By: Andrés R. López

A good neighbor is one of the many ways to facilitate crime prevention; this is a tool that you can use today to prevent crime in your neighborhood.

Neighborhood Watch is a crime prevention program that requires active participation of residents in cooperation with law enforcement to help solve problems, reduce crime, and improve the quality of life in the community.  Neighbors are asked to be the eyes and ears in helping the Evanston Police Department in preventing crime.  Neighborhood Watch is not designed to be a substitute for police protection.  Rather, it is an extension, or enhancement, in assisting the police in making neighborhoods safer for all residents.

The Neighborhood Watch program will give you the opportunity to know and work with your neighbors and to learn how to:

• Recognize and report crimes and suspicious activities,
• Protect yourself, family, and property,
• Protect your neighbor’s family and property, and
• Identify crime and disorder problems in your area

This program can help you make your neighborhood a safer place to live by adopting a more observant and active outlook and, as a result, become more aware of strange cars, persons, activities, or circumstances.

Establishing a Neighborhood Watch program in conjunction with the Evanston Police Department

Neighbors working together in cooperation with law enforcement is the basis of the Neighborhood Watch Program.  The following steps are basic guidelines to help establish and maintain a Neighborhood Watch:

Step 1: Build a group

• Talk with your neighbors and friends and ask for their participation in a small core group to take the first step in starting a Neighborhood Watch.
• Explain the need, importance, and value of a Neighborhood Watch.

Step 2: Contact the Neighborhood Watch Coordinator

• The Coordinator works closely with the Evanston Police Department’s Problem Solving Team (P.S.T.) and will supply materials and information for a Watch Block Committee.

Step 3: Conduct a Committee Meeting

• The role of the committee is to make an outline of specific issues that reflect the community.
• Defining the areas problems will help the committee come up with solutions.
• Meetings will allow a chance to help establish means of communication, such as telephone numbers and e-mails.

Step 4: Establish Boundaries

• Figure out the area the group will cover and where the responsibilities of each member lay.

Step 5: Post Signs

• Distribute flyers and other Neighborhood Watch materials, information, and literature about the area.
• This informs the community members of any upcoming meetings and events.
• This may serve as a warning to potential perpetrators.